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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Milwaukee Bucks, on the Eve of the 2012 NBA Draft, have acquired C Samuel Dalembert (6'11", 250 pounds) from the Houston Rockets, in exchange for SG Shaun Livingston, PF Jon Brockman, and PF Jon Leuer. The teams also swapped draft picks. Rockets now have the 12th pick, Bucks now have the 14th pick. The deal looks like a good one for the Bucks, who move down only two picks in
the lottery and part ways with a few non-core pieces in order to
acquire Dalembert, who fills a need in the middle. Dalembert's 2012/2013
contract is only partially guaranteed, but the Bucks figure to hang onto
the big man and his $6.7MM salary.

Samuel Dalembert will fill the vacant hole at center the Bucks lost when they traded Andrew Bogut to the Warriors.

With Dalembert on board, Milwaukee will likely no longer be targeting centers like Meyers Leonard and Tyler Zeller, and will turn their attention to drafting a small forward or shooting guard. Some small forwards available that the Bucks will look at are Royce Wright, Quincy Miller, Moe Harkless, Draymond Green, and Jae Crowder. Shooting guards that could be considered would then be Terrance Ross, Austin Rivers, and Jeremy Lamb. If for whatever reason those picks are available, and the Bucks need to take best available, then look for them to take Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones III. Second round pick could be used on local talents like Jordan Taylor from Wisconsin, or Darius Johnson-Odom from Marquette. Here's my Bucks Mock Draft:

1st Round, 14th Overall Pick:Terrence Jones (6'10" 252 pounds) PF, Kentucky - Now, assuming you are all wondering what the hell I'm thinking here, hear me out. So, Ersan Ilyasova is being looked at by close to half a dozen teams, all of whom will probably offer him a lot more money then we will. Going off of that, I'll say Bucks let Ersan walk, which opens up a power forward spot. Now, I know what you're going to say next... "But, we have Mbah a Moute, Harris, Udoh, Sanders, etc.) Yes, I know. Harris is our future small forward, Sanders will get little to no playing time, Moute is injury prone. So, that leaves Udoh, and I guess Drew Gooden, but I feel he will be used when Dalembert needs a rest during the game, then at forward the rest of the time. So, adding Jones wouldn't be that bad of an idea, as he is known for his great defense. The man has a 7'2" wingspan. Hello rebounds, hello blocked shots. He's a great passer and handles the ball well. This is our guy. (Other option: Terrence Ross, SG, Washington; Note - The Bucks love this guy, many people have him going to Milwaukee in their Mock Draft, and he could go from shooting guard to small forward.)

2nd Round, 42nd Overall Pick: Jae Crowder (6'6" 225 pounds) SF, Marquette - Not 100% set on Jae getting picked, however, this pick will definitely be used on a small forward or shooting guard for sure. Other options include Robbie Hummel, Darius Miller, Kevin Murphy etc. The Bucks to have caught on that drafting home grown talent is something that can pick up attendance, too. So, them drafting Jae Crowder, DJO, or Jordan Taylor shouldn't come as a surprise on Thursday. Plus, whoever is drafted won't be a starter right away. I think the Bucks are ready to get the ball rolling with Tobias Harris. A back-up is all this pick will be. Our biggest concerns were taken care of with the trade made, and our 1st round pick will do the same.

Crowder, who is used to playing on the BMO Harris Bradley Center court, would feel right at home with the Bucks.

Overall, I'm intrigued by the direction the Bucks are in. I want to be clear that I am not too happy that we traded away Jon Leuer. However, he would have been misused here in Milwaukee, and I believe he is better then what Milwaukee had in mind for him. He will excel in Houston. This draft will hopefully further my hope that this team my be close to turning itself around.

Until next time, Beers, Brats, and Championships.

-Andrew Vrchota (@WSB_Andrew)

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Monday, June 4, 2012

So, today is a much needed day off for the banged up Brewers whose club house probably looks something similar to this (Click Here), it is still a very important day for the Milwaukee Brewers. The future starts today. The next stars in our generation will be drafted today (hopefully). This following Mock Draft blog is my take and who I think the Brewers will take with their picks.

Before I get into my picks, here are links to some reliable Mock Drafts done by ESPN, MLB.com and others.

1st Round 27th Overall Pick (From the Tigers): 3B/OF/RHP Joey Gallo (Las Vegas H.S.): I don’t think the Brewers can pass up on the power that Gallo
brings to the table here despite the high risk that comes with. It would be very ironic that the Brewers would draft Gallo, as this pick is compensation for Prince Fielder signing with the Tigers. Gallo's power is the best available in the draft, and I think the Brewers could use the potential talent that Gallo offers. If his bat doesn’t work out, which many doubt will fail, he is a power arm on the mound, sitting in the mid to upper 90s.

Gallo provides power the Brewers lost in Prince Fielder, who ironically would be selected with the compensation pick of Prince Fielder from the Tigers.

1st Round 28th Overall Pick: SS/3B Addison Russell (Florida H.S.): After losing Alcides Escobar to the Royals in the Zack Greinke trade, the Brewers do not have anyone close to being ready for the majors for the shortstop position in the minor leagues. The Brewers would love to add a potential position prospect with upside and plus
power and Russell is just that. A powerful shortstop with huge power
potential and might be able to stay at the position but has plenty of
arm if he has to move to third base where his bat will play and glove
would be well above-average. Russell has a strong commitment to Auburn so he could be a tough sign to wherever he goes, but the Brewers have money to spend coming up and adding Russell to their system
here makes a lot of sense.

Addison plays a very crisp short stop and also provides power at the position.

2nd Round 38th Overall Pick: OF/RHP Mitchell Gueller (Washington H.S.): Gueller has received a lot of late buzz and he is an interesting two
way player. I think he will be drafted as a pitcher but we cannot count
him out as an outfielder either. Coming into the year, I think most saw
him as an outfielder but he has really come around this year as a
pitcher. His fastball sits in the mid 90s and is a fantastic athlete. He
has an advanced change-up that could be a plus pitcher later on. His
breaking ball is a bit slurvy but looks to be a solid pitch. In the
field he has had the five tool player tag put on him and that is
accurate. I like the upside pick here though for the Brewers.

If all else fails for the 6'3" pitcher, his .506 batting average (2012) can head to the outfield.

2nd Round 92nd Overall Pick: LHP Tyler Pike (Florida H.S.): Pike is getting a lot of comparisons to the Giants' starter Barry Zito
with an 88-91 mph fastball, above-average curveball and change-up. He
has a good feel for pitching and can handle the bat fairly well,
something of use to a National League ballclub. Tyler also can play a little bit of outfield as well. The Brewers will be downright lucky if Tyler falls this far in the draft, but it's possible. He has a Florida State
commitment but the Brewers could convince him otherwise.

Hopefully the Zito comparisons don't get to this kid's head, checkbook, or pitch location. Pike is a sleeper in this draft.

In addition to these 4 picks, the Brewers also have 8 picks in this draft. They include the 122nd, 155th, 185th, 215th, 245th, 275th, 305th, and 335th pick. I could go into who they will pick at those spots, but in all seriousness after the top 100 picks occur, there is really no telling where anyone is really going. Unlike football and basketball, where there are limited spots to fill, baseball is quite different. A full draft recap will be up a day or so after the MLB Draft is complete. Thank you for reading.

Until next time, Beers, Brats, and Championships.

-Andrew Vrchota (@WSB_Andrew)

Follow us on Twitter for up to date news on Brewers, Packers,
Badgers, Bucks and more. Live in game commentary, breaking news, previews, and
post game discussion. @WISportsBlog @WSB_Andrew @WSB_Nick @WSB_Brandon
@WSB_Mike
@WSB_Harrison. Finally, find us on Instagram! (wisportsblog).